Carlos Beltran is in a mini-slump, but Jerry Manuel believes the center fielder needs some mechanical work and not a rest.

Beltran has only two hits in his last 17 at-bats. He took early batting practice each of the last two days and said he felt “a little bit” better in last night’s game. But he also said he’s not happy with how he feels at the plate.

Hitting coach Howard Johnson said he “absolutely” saw improvement from Beltran last night, however. Beltran went 1-for-4 with three walks.

In his early batting practice, Johnson said Beltran worked on going the other way.

Beltran has gotten a minor demotion in the lineup recently, as Carlos Delgado has taken over the cleanup spot. Beltran hit fifth again last night.

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The Mets had thought that the price for Cleveland’s Casey Blake and Seattle’s Raul Ibanez had been too high. Now Blake has been dealt to the Dodgers.

Manuel admitted yesterday that his hopes have been dashed a bit in terms of getting another outfielder now that Blake and Xavier Nady have been traded.

“I guess you would say I am less optimistic,” he said. “That’d be a good way to put it.”

Billy Wagner said he believes both Nady and Pittsburgh corner outfielder Jason Bay would have been good fits for the Mets, citing their righty bats. But Wagner said he feels good about the team.

Asked about the bullpen, Wagner said, “Our bullpen’s fine.” He did make a good point, however, that it depends when you evaluate the ‘pen, noting that a month ago, the Mets probably required a new closer.

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According to Mets executive Tony Bernazard, top prospect Fernando Martinez is “day to day” with a tender right hamstring. . . . Jose Reyes got married on Friday. His new wife’s name is Katherine. . . . Before the game, Manuel was worried about Duaner Sanchez‘s “loss of velocity.” Sanchez threw 20 pitches in a scoreless inning last night, hitting 91 mph once and 90 mph another time. . . . Cardinals outfielder Skip Schumaker went 6-for-7 with three runs scored in last night’s 14 inning marathon.